Five Royals Relievers Trying to Earn Their Spot on 2027 Roster

The Kansas City Royals have been on a hot streak, winning eight straight games, including all seven at home last week against the Athletics (four games) and Tigers (three games). The Royals' playoff chances remain slim at 57-74, with Fangraphs putting their odds at 0.1%. That said, it's been exciting to see Kansas City play better baseball lately, with the hope that they can transition this momentum to 2027. 

One area that the Royals need to improve in 2027 is the bullpen, and that's putting it lightly. According to Fangraphs, the Royals rank 29th in bullpen ERA, 30th in WHIP, 28th in BB/9, 28th in K/9, 28th in H/9, and 30th in HR/9.

The Royals have shuffled the bullpen to address these issues. Matt Strahm is no longer on this roster. Lucas Erceg is in Triple-A Omaha. The Royals have also promoted many relievers and given them opportunities to prove their mettle at the MLB level. Some have worked out, some have not, but fans can appreciate that Royals President of Baseball Operations JJ Picollo is at least trying to find short-term solutions.

Right now, there are a few relievers who can be penciled in for 2027, as long as they stay healthy. Steven Cruz and Nate Pearson have emerged as key late-inning relievers for the Royals, as they have rotated between closing opportunities. Alex Lange will likely be back, especially since he won't be a free agent until 2029. John Schreiber could also be back, especially if he agrees to a cheap, one-year deal.

However, the rest of the bullpen? That's up for grabs, which means 4-5 spots could be open next spring. While some Royals fans would like 4-5 new names to fill in those gaps, the reality is that the Royals will need to find some internal solutions to step up and provide production in relief. 

Let's take a look at five Royals relievers who are getting opportunities right now and could earn at least invites to Spring Training in 2027 if they can finish the 2026 campaign strong.

Mason Black, RHP

The Royals acquired Black from the Giants last year with the hope that he could find a spot in Kansas City as either a spot starter or long reliever. He got off to a good start with the Royals, with a 3.57 ERA in 17.2 IP before the All-Star Break. Unfortunately, he's faded as of late, as his ERA has been 6.17 in 11.2 IP in the second half.

Overall, Black's ERA is up to 4.60, and his WHIP has also risen to 1.70 in 16 appearances and 29.1 IP. While Black has done a good job of flooding the strike zone (61st percentile) and showing strong pitch extensions (64th percentile), his lackluster K%, BB%, CSW%, and GB% don't exactly bode well for future success (and his 6.71 FIP confirms that). 

The 26-year-old former Lehigh product will be out of Minor League options next year, so the Royals will have to decide on keeping or non-tendering him this offseason. While the Statcast percentile isn't great, Black's arsenal is intriguing, as he sports a seven-pitch mix. Even though he has only one above-average pitch on a TJ Stuff+ end, that sheer arsenal volume gives him an advantage, especially when he's locating effectively.

His sweeper, which he throws 21.7% of the time, may be his best pitch, though he could do a better job of generating chases (15.8%) and whiffs (16.7%). It does sport some intriguing spin (2,618 RPM) and horizontal movement, and when it's located properly, it can produce nasty whiffs like this one below in Texas against Ezequiel Duran. 

It feels unlikely that the Royals will keep Black on the roster for 2027, especially with him being out of Minor League options next year. That said, if he can bounce back after a rough outing on Sunday, he could get back in the bullpen discussion, though he may need to condense or enhance his pitch mix a bit to be more effective, like he was in the first half. 

Connor Thomas, LHP

Thomas only pitched two games with the Atlanta Braves before getting designated for assignment on July 29th. The Athletics claimed the lefty off waivers, but they optioned him to Triple-A, and they ended up designating him for assignment on August 1st. The Royals promptly moved on Thomas, claiming him on waivers on August 4th.

In three outings, the 28-year-old lefty has been one of the better performers lately in the Royals bullpen. He hasn't allowed a run, and he's also posting a 0.67 WHIP and 25% K-BB%. In addition to a strong CSW% (35%), he also has limited hard contact (25%), generated groundballs (75% GB%), and produced a lot of whiffs (34.8% whiff%). Thomas is doing this too despite mediocre extension (25th percentile) and TJ Stuff+ (24th percentile). 

Thomas has a five-pitch mix, with his cutter, sweeper, and four-seamer as his most-used pitches, each at 20% or higher. His overall TJ Stuff+ is 98, as illustrated below in his TJ Stuff+ summary with the Royals.

The pitch that sticks out the most from Thomas is his changeup, which he has thrown 17.5% of the time. In addition to being his best pitch on a TJ Stuff+ end, it also generates a lot of chase (66.7%) and whiff (40%). When located down, the offspeed pitch can generate some good swings and misses, like this one against the Athletics' Zack Gelof on August 20th.

Thomas has three Minor League options, so the Royals may not have to move too fast with him this offseason. Nonetheless, with Daniel Lynch IV moving to the rotation, Thomas has stepped up as the lone lefty reliever in the Royals bullpen. He could solidify that spot in 2027 if he continues this pace. 

Jose Cuas, RHP

Cuas has been an intriguing reliever for the Royals in 2026, which wasn't expected when they picked him up shortly before Spring Training started. 

The 32-year-old righty was formerly a reliever in the Royals organization in 2022 and 2023 before being traded to the Cubs for outfielder Nelson Velazquez at the Trade Deadline. He posted a 3.58 ERA in 2022 and a 4.54 ERA in 2023 with the Royals, which isn't anything spectacular. He was better with the Cubs in 2023 (3.04 ERA), but he struggled on the North Side in 2024 and landed with the Blue Jays later that year. After posting a 7.71 ERA with both teams, the Blue Jays released him, and he spent most of last season in the Braves and Phillies minor league systems. 

After posting a 0.73 ERA with Águilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Winter League, the Royals gave him a Minor League deal, and it was expected that he would be bullpen depth in Omaha. However, in 12 appearances and 13 IP, he has produced a 2.08 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 1.69 WHIP, and 10.2% K-BB%.

Cuas is known for his sidearm delivery, his ability to mess with hitters' timing (he does a lot of Luis Tiant impressions on the mound), and his ability to limit barrels (96th percentile) and hard contact (80th percentile hard-hit%).  He also has a solid 26.6% whiff rate and 23.7% K%, which offset his mediocre CSW% (18th percentile) and walk rate (12th percentile). 

While he is a sidearmer, he relies heavily on his four-seamer, which he throws 37.2% of the time. Despite lacking elite velocity or stuff, it's been extremely effective at generating chases and whiffs. 

Even though it averages 92.1 MPH and has a 100 TJ Stuff+ mark, the four-seamer is producing a 34.4% chase% and 32% whiff%. It is also allowing a .341 xwOBACON, the second-best mark of his five pitches in that category. Cuas does a great job of hammering the four-seamer up in the zone with just enough rise and movement that forces hitters to chase and miss on the pitch, like Brett Callahan below on Sunday.

The nice thing about Cuas is that he's cheap and he's expendable, so if he doesn't produce, the Royals could easily let him go. He'll be out of Minor League options next year, so the Royals will have to be confident in his ability to stay in the bullpen long term in 2027. That's hard to say, especially since he has only pitched 12 times this year and has been optioned to Omaha quite a bit.

Nonetheless, Cuas is producing, and that merits consideration for 2027, even if his spot is far from guaranteed. 

Carlos Duran, RHP

Duran made his Royals debut last week against the Athletics (one of his former teams), and it was a tale of two outings.

In his first appearance, he allowed no runs on one hit and struck out one in an inning of work. He ended up getting his first career win in the outing and was part of the postgame interview with Bobby Witt Jr., who hit a walk-off single to beat the A's. 

The second outing was much less effective, unfortunately.

Duran only recorded one out and allowed two runs on one hit and three walks (he struck out none). The former Dodger, who was traded for Kris Bubic at the Trade Deadline, just couldn't find the strike zone. As a result, he was optioned back to Omaha after the outing. 

It's a small sample, but his Statcast percentiles raise some concerns and offer some encouragement. Obviously, the command and control are concerns, but he showcased strong fastball velocity (61st percentile) and extension (64th percentile). He also did a good job of generating groundballs (80%) and limiting hard contact in his two outings as well. Thus, when he's throwing the ball in the zone, at least he's not getting whacked. 

Looking at his four-pitch mix via TJ Stuff+, his slider was his best offering, with an 111 TJ Stuff+. He threw it 22.9%, his third-most used offering behind his four-seamer and sinker. 

The pitch struggled to find the zone and generate much chase, but it did produce a 50% whiff rate, the best mark of any of his four pitches in that category. The slider is a high-spin offering (2,615 RPM), and when he located it properly, he generated a punchout of the Athletics' Donovan Walton on August 18th.

 

The interesting part of Duran's profile is that his extension on his secondary pitches (6.3 feet) was far below his four-seamer (6.6) and sinker (6.7) extension. That makes him susceptible not only to inconsistency on his pitches, but perhaps to tipping off batters as well. My guess is the Royals sent him to Triple-A to work on that extension, which will hopefully improve his control and make him more effective when he returns to the Royals once the roster expands in September. 

Easton McGee, RHP

McGee didn't have a great stint with the Royals, which explains why he is back in Omaha.

In four outings and 5.1 IP, he produced an 11.81 ERA, 2.63 WHIP, 7.41 FIP, and 10.3% K-BB%. However, the percentiles are much better than what the overall lines suggest.

The former Brewers arm produced a lot of chase (38.1% O-Swing%), swinging strikes (13.4%), limited hard contact (30% hard-hit rate), and sported great extension on his pitches (82nd percentile). The problem was the barrels (21st percentile), lackluster CSW (22nd percentile), and that the TJ Stuff+ didn't profile well (7th percentile).

In terms of the latter, McGee relies on the four-seamer WAY too much. Not only was it his most-thrown pitch with the Royals, but it also profiled the worst TJ Stuff+ wise of his six offerings.

I would love to see what McGee could look like if he cut out the four-seamer, increased the sinker and cutter usage, and maybe threw the changeup more. His sinker had a 96 TJ Stuff+ with the Royals, which is nine points better than his four-seamer. He also had a zone rate of 75% with the offering, much better than the 36.4% zone rate of his four-seamer. Relying on his sinker more could give him fewer whiffs on fastball pitches, but could help his breaking and offspeed offerings in that category.

Here's an example of his curveball generating a swinging strikeout of Alex Bregman on August 9th at Kauffman Stadium.

I look at McGee as a pitcher with a similar profile to James McArthur, who didn't have a good four-seamer, but relied on a sinker to generate groundball outs and his breaking offerings to generate whiffs. He used that successfully at the end of 2023 and the start of 2024. While I wouldn't put McGee in as a high-leverage reliever in 2027, I think it isn't out of the question to think that, with some pitch mix adjustments, he could be an effective middle-innings guy who could thrive with the four-seamer out of the equation. 

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